AsemconnectVietnam - In February of 2025, Vietnam's seafood export achieved a growth rate of 42% compared to the same period of 2024.

In the first 2 months of 2025, Vietnam's total seafood export turnover reached 1.423 billion USD, an increase of 18.2% over the same period of 2024. In February 2025 alone, Vietnam's seafood export reached 655.197 million USD, an increase of 42.6% over the same period of 2024.
Vietnam's shrimp exports in February and the first 2 months of 2025
Shrimp export was a bright spot in Vietnam's total seafood export with a contribution of 542.387 million USD in the first 2 months of the year, a growth of 30.8%. In February of 2025 alone, shrimp exports reached 231.406 million USD, up by 33.9%.
The outlook for the shrimp industry in 2025 is quite optimistic, as long as uncertainties such as the trade war under the Trump administration do not cause further disruption. The average import prices increase from October of 2024 and are expected to remain high throughout 2025 thanks to stable inventories, bringing confidence to both exporters and importers.
Vietnam's pangasius exports in February and the first 2 months of 2025
In the first 2 months of 2025, Vietnam's pangasius exports reached 253.241 million USD, down by 0.8% compared to the same period of 2024.
However, in February of 2025, Vietnam's pangasius exports reached 120.057 million USD, a strong growth of 32.8%, showing signs of recovery in the short term. The price of commercial pangasius is currently at its highest level in 3 years (VND 32,000-33,000/kg for fish over 1kg/fish), bringing significant profits to farmers (VND 2,000-3,500/kg). This is the result of increased export demand, especially from the end of 2024, when businesses recorded many stable orders until at least June of 2025.
However, the pangasius market faces many challenges. Raw material prices are increasing due to escalating input costs (feed, labor) and the instability of the US tariff policy, with an additional 10% tax imposed on processed seafood from China, indirectly affecting global trade flows.
In addition, demand in the US remains sluggish, while large inventories can restrain price increases. Pangasius farmers need to be careful to avoid spontaneous production expansion, because current prices can be "virtual" and can easily plummet if supply exceeds demand. Linking with businesses, applying modern farming technology and focusing on value-added products will be the key to maintaining a competitive advantage.
Particularly for tuna, despite difficulties and challenges from international regulations, export turnover remains stable, reaching 126.481 million USD in the first 2 months of the year, down slightly by 3.5%. In February of 2025 alone, it reached 59.986 million USD, up by 15.9%.
The Japanese market - one of the main destinations for Vietnamese tuna - showed price stability, albeit at a low level. The price of frozen bigeye tuna at Toyosu Market (Tokyo) remained around 650 yen/kg from the 4th week of 2025, 100 yen/kg lower than the previous year, due to tight supply from the Indian Ocean and the East Pacific.
Vietnam's tuna export industry is facing major challenges from major import markets such as the EU and the US. Regulations on combating illegal fishing (IUU) continue to be a major barrier to exploited seafood, including tuna, in which the regulation on the minimum size of skipjack tuna of 0.5m in Decree 37/2024 is causing fishermen and businesses not to solve the problem of raw materials.
Similarly, the US has implemented the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), requiring seafood exporting countries to demonstrate that their fishing practices do not harm marine animals and demonstrate similar management regulations to the US. The US has just announced that it will not recognize Vietnam as equivalent, and is at risk of banning the import of many Vietnamese seafood species from January 1, 2026 if Vietnam does not take timely action.
To overcome this, it is necessary to have strong support from competent authorities and industry managers in perfecting the legal framework, improving monitoring capacity and supporting fishermen to comply with international standards.
CK
Source: VITIC/haiquanonline.com.vn